The Ambient Music Blog

Chris Harvey third album, called “Colonization” is out now (released in April) and Chris was kind enough to send me a copy to listen.

“Colonization” is really a great record, something between Electronica and Ambient (it is stated “Experimental Ambient Electronica” on the press release and that’s perfect description), a subtle mix between very calm atmospheres and some rhythms.

Chris Harvey is remarkably crafting 18 different ambiances, in a very unusual format, where tracks are short (1 to 5 minutes), delivering the heart of each song in a very straight forward way, not really usual for the Ambient genre.

From the press release :

‘Colonization’ continues to move his unique style forward, providing further melodic and sonic refinement to produce music from “the retro-future that may yet come to pass”, promising to be a treat for avid fans and those who prefer their electronic music to be aimed at their frontal lobes.

Cool stuff.

Visit the artist website : Chris Harvey “Colonization” & buy the record.

Tangram (aka Peter Fabok) just released a new ambient space music album : “Tepidarium“.

“Tepidarium” is a complete and free album to download in MP3 format, it is the second from Tangram, the first one was “Aura” another great release.

This record is very old Berlin school style, with lots of analog sounds and sequences… The tracks are reasonably shorts, if you except the 10 minutes masterpiece “Well tempered humidity” a song in the pure style of Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream.

The quality of the record is top, not pure ambient, but very cool and relaxing sequencer music.

One of the masterpiece of the year… and a free mp3 download !

A very very very cool one !

Prior to launching the full album, Numb just released a single, “Boot Sector” that you can listen on their mySpace page.

The 3 tracks (‘Boot Sector”, “System Restart”, “Why”) are very good, but the title song, “Boot Sector” is a killer, one of the best Ambient track of these past weeks. it is very cool and warm, yet you have things happening and that wonderful melody, a great one that reminds Vangelis…

Go and give it a go, here is the link to buy the record at The Void.

Here is an excerpt :

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

A very nice record sent to me via Twitter :

“Binary Scenes” is the debut release by San Francisco Bay Area electronic artist, Atomic Skunk. Atomic Skunk’s music features “artful melodies with cinematic moodiness” and has been described as “Very meditative” and “Zen-like” with some “chaotic and dark elements/rhythms.” The album, Binary Scenes was recorded entirely with Ableton Live in Marin County, California and features 8 fresh and original tracks that “force a headspace of chill and peacefulness.” “Binary Scenes” is available now at iTunes, Amazon, Bandcamp and CD Baby.

Take your browser to the Atomic Skunk website to discover this album !

This one is a must have for EM fans out there !

MellowJet Records just released a wonderful sampler of some of their best artists, it’s a full length free download as mp3 of 70 minutes of pure EM wonder.

Lots of things will talk to Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream and Jarre fans, but Ambient listeners should give it a try too, because this is relaxing sequenced music !

The first MellowJet-Sampler with Wellenfeld, moonbooter, Erez Yaary, Uwe Reckzeh, Exposed, Stefan Erbe and MaEasy…

Download : MellowJet records : Electronic Musique Compilation 1

The Ambient label Ping Things is offering an incredible free album to download as high quality mp3 for you.

“A decade of Dreaming” by the famous dreamSTATE is a compilation of an incredible live performance by some of the finest ambient musician out there:

“a decade dreaming” features a selection of live performances by dreamSTATE spanning ten years of concerts at THE AMBiENT PiNG, celebrating both the music and the PiNG community of the last decade.

With guest performances by Eric Hopper of Sylken, Alan Bloor of Pholde/Knurl, Jim Field of Spacenoiz, James Johnson, Wally Jericho, and Cheryl O, “a decade of dreaming” is a beautiful collection of music that captures the essence of dreamSTATE and the PiNG itself. From the smooth pads of “Soundscape for Richard Wright”, through the delicate melodies of “Jharna Revealed”, to “Premillennial Landscape #1″ and its celestial tones, “a decade dreaming” is a fabulous release that I am delighted to be able to share with you.

I am listening to it right now as i write this post, and this is a masterpiece !

Download “a decade dreaming” by dreamSTATE for free from ping things!

Wayne mailed me for you to discover utopiaXO’s latest release, under the name utopiaXO.

The record is called “The Light” and you can find it on LastFM for listening as well as a free mp3 download.

This is a very cool and light ambient record, with some spoken voices that mix perfectly with the textures of the music, a very relaxing album.

Enjoy !

Ambient and Electronica artist mon0 from Germany is back with a new release on NetLabel Test Tube called “Multifidus“.

As usual with mon0, the music is top quality featuring layers of analogues synths, drones with a very heavy and dark mood.

The record is a 5 tracks download from Test Tube, as well as a special mix of the 5 tracks all together for a seamless listening !

This is a free for all mp3 download under a Creative Commons licence.

mon0 – Multifidus – Test Tube 172.

The Ambient Collective is back again this year with an excellent record of excellent artists !

“Zodiac” is fully loaded with a lot of different styles of ambient music, performed by a lot of different artists who all have in common their talent !

You will find: usr/sbin, Phrozenlight, Jujigen, Steve Ganes, Silvercord, Zeitlos, Gregg Plummer, Michael Meara, Modulator ESP and Bluejooz !

What they say:

The Ambient Collective are proud to present… Zodiac:

An amazing collaboration featuring ambient styles from all the star signs. Ranging from Sublime Drone to pure Soundtrack; IDM to Ethereal… stunning tracks for your enjoyment brought to you by todays finest underground ambient producers.
Enjoy,

Bluejooz

Now go to the Ambient Collective page for Zodiac to download and listen to this great piece :

“Zodiac” on the Ambient Collective blog or “Zodiac” on the Internet Archive.

For this Week-end, another excellent Podcast to discover : Syndae !

Syndae is a fine EM (Electronica /Electronic Music) to listen, discover some of the best EM artists out there :

syndae is an independent podcast on electronic music of ambient, space, new age, harmonic, traditional, progressive, and rhythmic style, not directly including electronic dance music. Well known artists in electronic music are (in no specific order): Klaus Schulze, Jean-Michel Jarre, Tangerine Dream, Ron Boots, Ian Boddy, Kraftwerk, and Steve Roach.

The goal of syndae is to make aware of fine electronic music, by providing enjoyable episodes with well known and not yet well known artists from around the world, and to promote events of the electronic music scene, by dedicating episodes to selected artists of such an event.

Stefan, host of the show, will guide you during 30 minutes into a fine music journey. The Podcast is quality, and the length perfect.

For example this week, Syndae N°38 will present:

Expect some of the most talented EM artists in tonight’s episode 38 of syndae! Brand new tracks by Christopher J. Wray from the UK from his upcoming album Retrospect, by Frank van Bogaert from Belgium from his June 2009 album Air Machine, and by Stefan Erbe from his soon to be live presented album Driver. Further on the show, an insight into Imaginary Soundtrack by Peter Beasley and hot stuff by jujigen a.k.a. Kevin Rees from the just released compilation Nucleolus.

Have fun !